“Mary the Mother of God,” or Theotokos

On October 11th, 2012, then Pope Benedict XVI, declared that Church would celebrate a Year of Faith (Porta Fidei 4). Why did he choose this date?

October 11th celebrates two great anniversaries. Fifty years prior to this, October 11th, 1962 was the date of the opening of Second Vatican Council by Blessed Pope John XXIII. This same date October 11th, was chosen by St. John Paul II in 1992, to promulgate the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Celebrating two great anniversaries is important but one might still be curious why Blessed John XXIII and the Fathers of the Council chose the date October 11th in the first place? One of the reforms of Second Vatican Council was to make changes to the Universal Calendar of the Saints. The Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God was originally celebrated on Oct 11th in the old Calendar which was in effect in 1962, at the opening of the Council. Clearly the Fathers of the Council wanted to place the work of the council under the patronage of Our Lady. This is certainly the short answer to my question.

The title of “Mary the Mother of God,” or Theotokos, was defined at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. This council was called by the Emperor Theodosius II to settle a disagreement which had arisen regarding the teachings of Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, and the certain other bishops in Church regarding the appropriateness of the title Mary, Mother of God. Modern historians dispute the extent to which Nestorius actually believed false notions or whether he simply misspoke in the heat of debate. Clearly he was thought to have believed that there are two persons in the incarnate Jesus Christ. According to Nestorius, Mary can only be thought of as the Mother of the human person Christ or the Christotokos and not of the person of God or the Theotokos. The Church ultimately recognized that the proper understanding of the union of God and man in Jesus Christ was that of two natures in one person. Since Mary gave birth to a person she is rightly called the Mother of God. As the Catechism reminds us;

Called in the Gospels "the mother of Jesus", Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my Lord". In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos). (CCC 495).

Though the Council of Ephesus was filled with contention and ambitious plots by many characters, Nestorius was legitimately deposed by some 200 bishops and failed to recant. He had previously been condemned and ordered to recant by Pope Celestine and a Roman Synod. Perhaps Nestorius’ biggest fault was his lack of humility. Ultimately his failure to recant made him a heretic. The council was subjected to even more political intrigue when the principal council fathers, Cyril of Alexandria and Bishop Memnon of Ephesus were held under house arrest in Ephesus by the Emperor. Eventually late in October in 431, the Emperor sided with Cyril and declared the council at an end and its judgments valid. It seems that the date of October 11th celebrates the release of St. Cyril of Alexander from arrest and the close of this Ecumenical Council which declared Mary to be the Mother of God.

Nestorius’ preaching involved sophisticated and nuanced arguments about the meanings of certain words found in Sacred Scripture. The local populace in both Constantinople and Ephesus held to Marian piety with great devotion and rejected Nestorius’ anti-Marian interpretations. St. Cyril tells us that during the first session of the council in the city of Ephesus,

The entire populace of the city remained from dawn until evening awaiting the judgment of the holy council. As they heard that the wretched man was deposed everyone with one voice began to praise the holy council and to glorify God because the enemy of the faith had fallen. But as we came out of the church, they preceded us with torches as far as the inn, for the evening was near; and there was much joy and lighting of lights in the city, so that even women carrying censers led the way for us. (St. Cyril of Alexandria, Letter 24)

This popular celebration of Marian piety was reenacted at the opening of Second Vatican Council, when on the eve of October 11 St. Peter’s Square was filled with a torch light procession. Commenting in September of 1962 on plans for the October 11th opening of Vatican II Rome correspondent Desmond Fisher reported;

That night [October 11th] the faithful of Rome plan to hold a torchlight procession to honour the Council Fathers and the Pope and to express their joy at having the Council in their city. The demonstration recalls the Council of Ephesus in 431 when the faithful of the city demonstrated in a similar manner.” (Catholic Herald, 28th September, 1962)

The torch light procession was orchestrated by Catholic Action and ended in St. Peter’s square. Blessed Pope John XXIII was greatly moved by the event and gave his famous impromptu speech (Discorso della Luna) in which he said said: Tornando a casa, troverete i bambini. Date una carezza ai vostri bambini e dite: questa è la carezza del Papa. It means, "When you go home, you’ll find your children. Give them a kiss, and tell them that this kiss comes from the pope." 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!